Writing a Proper Email

The majority of us have become so accustomed to emailing people that we forget when we’re emailing someone unfamiliar that we have to follow a certain set of rules. If we don’t, we may lose a client or acquaintance because we were simply too casual and treated our email like a text message. Here are some important elements you need to include in any email you write to someone you’ve never met.

Subject

Would you open an email with a bad title? Probably not, unless that was the only way to delete it. The subject line will tell your prospective reader whether they want to even glance at your email or not. In addition, try not to use any characters that aren’t letters or numbers (such as * and #) because that often tells the email program you need to go straight to the garbage.

Greetings

Honestly, “dear so and so” isn’t going to grab anyone’s attention. In an age where anyone can write your emails and anyone can be creative enough to make them eye-catching, you don’t have any excuse to write cliché titles that no one wants to read. You need to find the delicate balance between professional, impersonal, and formal. Remember that your goal is to build relationships, so you need to approach any correspondence in a friendly manner.

Endings

If you can even get someone to open your email, it’s likely they’ll be looking at the end and the beginning. So your ending needs to have the same kind of impact that your greeting does. Make it clear that you want to hear from the person without sounding desperate and informal. Don’t forget to include social media links as well near the end of your email, even if they only appear in the form of flavicons.

Remember, an email is often the first chance you get to make an impression – make sure it’s a good one.